Click Frenzy: Get Ready Australia

Has anyone of you heard about Cyber Monday? So, Cyber Monday is Monday after the Black Friday where in US, there was a big (very big) discounts made by retailer. And until now, the tradition has not disappeared. Now, the retailers give discounts, but not only on Monday.

Click Frenzy, is one of the adaption of Cyber Monday. It will be held in Australia next week, Tuesday 20 November 2012 starting from 7 PM. A hundred and fifty retailers will join the event, including Myer, Dick Smith, Target, Kogan and many more. This is probably one of the way-out of problems faced by retailers at the moment; giving discounts. Retailers have not been doing well for the past years. For example, David Jones have been dropping its profit for 40% in a full year profit.
But anyway, get ready for CLICK FRENZY!!

Ref: www.smh.com.au, www.news.com.au

The Poll Result for the IPad Mini

So, when I posted a poll for the iPad Mini, the result was 60% people are willing to buy and iPad Mini while the rest are not (I discussed this in Behind the Scene of Apple).
There are a lot of controversy in the news about iPad mini. A lot of reviews have been published and some say good, some say average, some say quite bad. But for sure, the sales have increased since it was first out in the market.

www.mobilemarketingwatch.com

Frankly speaking, for me, an iPad 2 user, if I were asked whether I want to buy an iPad Mini or not, it is probably not worth it. I had one already, with the same function, just different size. However, with the ones who have not got an iPad, it is probably better to buy an iPad mini as it is lighter and perform the same function, so it sort of increases the mobility.
The new rumor is, that the iPad Mini 2, is on the way. It will have Retina Display, maybe.... And I hope more to come from the iPad Mini 2. Then, it comes the time when the normal iPad becomes obsolete.

Economy and Sustainability: Is There A Better Way

When we are face with the problem of sustainability, is there a way out? Even we are people that are not scientists can tell that the weather has been changing a lot. The weather is much more unpredictable than ever. Like yesterday, I was about to walk outside my house, then it hailed, while the temperature was like 30 degrees. It is closely related to how people do things now. Increasing consumption, boosting businesses, maybe we have rethink new ways to deal with sustainability. Because seeing it now, I cannot imagine what will happen in 30 years time. Will we be able to jog in the morning, without inhaling the pollution?

I want to share you this video. I think it is really important for business to think more about their wastage. And I think Relan has proven to use the wastage in a more effective way, with a selling point.
So, think more!

The Richests' First Jobs

Ever wondering what the richests did as their first jobs?
Carlos Slim (Telmex): Selling dry goods such as clothes, textiles, etc
Bill Gates (Microsoft): Computer Programmer at TRW
Warren Buffet (Berkshire Hathaway): Pinball Repairer
Oprah Winfrey: Grocery Store Clerk
Michael Bloomberg: Parking Lot Attendant
Steve Jobs (Apple): Summer Hire at Hewlett Packard
Giorgio Armani: Assistant Photographer
Bernard Arnault (LVMH): Working in family owned construction company
Larry Ellison (Oracle): Technician in Fireman's Fund and Wells Fargo Bank
David Murdock: Working at gas station
Charles Schwab (Charles Schwab Brokerage): Selling walnuts
Richard Branson (Virgin): Magazine Publisher
James Packer: Jackaroo
Conclusion: Never give up on your dreams!

Lower Fare for Sydney International Student

NSW government announced 6 days ago that the bus fare for the international students will be lowered by 35%, starting next year (According to BusNews.com.au)! So excited!!!
The implication for students: LOWER FEES! For government, this might be a result from the indicator that there is decreasing number of international students coming to Australia. Probably, the very-high living expense in Australia, especially Sydney does not seem to be appealing enough for students. Probably, students will choose the USA, or Singapore where the education level is high with lower expenses.

Shortened Life Span: Light Bulb Conspiracy

Have you ever wondered that the things that you buy do not last long? Is it just us as consumers who use it recklessly?
Have you ever thought that it is actually the producers that make it that way?
To illuminate this, there is a documentary about light bulb conspiracy.

Before, light bulb is created to last more than 2000 hours. Now, it is only for 1000 hours. What happened? Isn't it supposed to be longer since the advancement of technology? Not only light bulb, the other products such as printers and stockings are designed not to last long so the consumers keep buying the products. Do you think this is ethical?

The Rich and The So-so in the Music Industry

When we hear the famous names in the music industry such as Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry, it really makes us wonder how much do they actually make? With the raising concern of free downloading and streaming, the selling of the actual album is declining from year to year. People prefer to download it free from internet or streaming rather than buying the actual albums, yet the income they make from streaming may not be that satisfying.

http://www.kpoplyrics.net

According to The Root, the actual singers make only a small portion out of their effort. It is the 13% out of the overall income makes. Still, from the 13%, it is still shared with the personals within the band. According to Nielsen research, only $1 to $2 is made for an album sold for the singer, except for indie album that can reach $9. However, it varies between the contract. For example, TLC that hit 9 million selling album, was declared bankrupt because of the poor contract.The income made from YouTube, iTunes Match or Spotify may not be as much as our expectations. Josh Davison from Parks and Gardens stated that he only gets 1 cent for every 3 songs played in iTunes Match. Even from YouTube as well, the Dead Kennedys video by East Bay Ray that has been watched for 14 million times, yet he only got few hundred dollars from YouTube.

http://www.theroot.com/

Thus, we can see now, how low the distributors and the record label pay the singers, it makes it very hard for the newbie to actually earn some money and survive the music industry.  However, some of the successful example in the music industry such as PSY has proved that uniqueness and creativity in the music industry is crucial. The just-famous artist has made $13.5 million for 3 months (For more info please click here. The question is whether all those money is made from YouTube which has hit nearly 590 million views today, or from any other source. Psy will earn $2.5-$5.0 for 1000 views, $0.05 per subscriber view and $0.01 per channel view which approximately about $600,000 to $1,000,000 (according to KGB Answers). That number is even not 10% from its income for Gangnam Style. So where does the income come from?

Dealing with low-payment streaming and free downloading, artists have to be smart to be rich; concert is the answer. So far, the experience of going to concert still cannot be replaced with anything else. Seeing the real artists singing their songs, the vibe during the concert are still appreciated by the music lovers. The amount of money made from concerts is a big deal too. As we can guess from PSY case, the money he made outside YouTube will probably mostly come from his concerts.